Chris Lee posted another video this week which among other things highlights six states that are now actively investigating legislation surrounding loot boxes plus Apple has changed its ToS on the Apple store to make it compulsory for game publishers to disclose percentages for every item contained within loot boxes.

I think apple is pretty much preparing for what it sees as the inevitable legislation against loot boxes by doing the right thing and generating good press for itself

I could also see game companies supplement their income with in game ads. EA a while back was looking into this.

As for online games like rift I could see a return to subscriptions.

Then there's also more paid DLC with each game but the DLCs would be smaller in scope.

I'm not against ads IF you can remove them when you are a subscriber player.

And I already pay for RIFT (patron) and would pay more for NOT random things.
Lootboxes only reason to exist is the gambling addiction they feed on. Without the random factor they would disappear. You only would get packs, like the ones we have for this event.

It seems the US government is increasing the pressure concerning lootbox regulation, Washington Senator Kevin Ranker has put forward a bill to determine whether lootboxes/lockboxes in video games constitute gambling under state law.

The German Commision is now investigating lootboxes as a University of Hamburg study has concluded they show typical gambling market features.

The move is apparently based on an as-yet unpublished University of Hamburg study that analyzes video game sales and business models, ultimately determining what most online gamers already know: that such games actively target whales, who are responsible for the majority of their revenue. This, the researchers reportedly conclude, is “a typical feature of gambling markets.”

Today Hawaii legislators have introduced four new bills designed to limit the implementation of electronic gambling systems (aka loot boxes),

One pair of bills, House Bill 2686 and Senate Bill 3024, would prohibit the sale of any game featuring a system wherein players can purchase a randomized reward using real money to anyone younger than 21 years old.

The other two bills, House Bill 2727 and Senate Bill 3025, would require video game publishers to prominently label games containing such randomized purchase systems, as well as disclose the probability rates of receiving each loot box reward.